


Bubble Trouble

by arthurpendragonz



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-07
Updated: 2013-07-07
Packaged: 2017-12-18 01:17:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/874029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arthurpendragonz/pseuds/arthurpendragonz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"In the end, if Damon can't conquer Elena's heart, his only escape will be death" Elena arrives at the boarding house in the middle of a storm. She attempts to wash her clothes and chaos ensues, chaos that neither of them are ready for A/U M for language</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bubble Trouble

The rain pelted hard against her face as the wind whipped her hair fiercely around her. She hugged her shivering frame tightly as she battled towards the Salvatore boarding house, all the while mentally scolding herself for being so monumentally stupid.

Elena had been sat at home, warm, safe, but bored out of her mind. Alaric had gone back to his old apartment to finish packing up his things. He was officially moving in as their new legal guardian.

He'd rang half an hour ago to tell her he was staying over there. The weather had taken a turn for the worst and he didn't want to risk the 20 minute drive back. She'd said goodnight to him and assured him she'd be fine and she'd ring him when Jeremy got home.

As soon as she'd gotten off the phone to Alaric, Jeremy had called telling her he was staying at Bonnie's for the night. They were trying to sort things out and Elena had enthusiastically agreed. She knew they needed to either forgive and forget or sort things through enough to part as friends.

Jeremy had promised to be back early in the morning so they could go Christmas shopping. They'd been putting it off for weeks now, Caroline had been attempting to force her to cheer up and get into the holiday spirit almost daily.

She knew she needed to live her life, move on from the horrors of her past and look forward to a new year. She knew this, it was finding the will to make it happen that she was lacking.

She'd always loved Christmas. It was easily her favourite holiday, but the last two had been the most difficult of her life.

Last year had been the year that she had spent it with Stefan for the first time. It had been nice and comforting; it had reminded her of how Christmas was supposed to be. Of course, it had still been depressing, but she'd survived it.

The year before...well...it was the first Christmas she'd spent without her parents. It had been a nightmare. She'd tried to put on a brave face, she'd smiled and laughed and attempted to act as cheerful as possible but she'd felt dead inside. She'd been falling apart in silence.

So, the reason she was currently in the middle of what seemed like the storm to end all storms was because she had resolved to finish the house's decorations whilst she was alone. Unfortunately, there hadn't been as much to do as she had first thought. It was mostly down to Damon that she'd started in the first place. He'd come over earlier that day to cheer her up.

Elena had thought that after 165 years of celebrating Christmas he'd be pretty sick of it but, to her surprise, he'd been the exact opposite. He'd helped her decorate the tree, hung tinsel on the banister and over the fireplace, and even draped flashing lights over the outside of the house. She had to admit, the house looked the best it had ever looked at Christmas.

The only thing she'd had left to do was tidy up all the boxes and put them back in the attic. Once she'd done that she'd attempted to watch a movie but being in the house alone just hadn't felt as comforting as it once had.

That's why she had decided to brave the storm and drive over to the boarding house to see Damon. Lately, he was the only one who made her feel safe. How the hell that had happened she'd never know.

So she'd gotten into her car and driven towards his house. Just as she'd been about to make the turn on to the road that would lead towards his drive, her car had decided it would be the perfect moment to stutter and die on her. Typical.

Stupidly, she had left her cellphone at home, so she couldn't even ring Damon to let him know where she was. She had no umbrella, not that it would have kept her dry with the ferocity of the wind, and she had on a thin cardigan as she hadn't thought she'd need a coat when she'd only be outside for a few seconds.

Now she found herself shivering violently from cold as she made her way towards the house. Luckily, her car had broken down at the end of the drive so the walk would only take her 2 minutes at most.

As she finally walked the last few steps towards the door, she sighed in exhausted relief. Elena reached eagerly for the door handle just as Damon pulled it open, a look of disbelief and anger evident on his face, as he took in the sight of her drenched form.

"What the hell, Elena? Are you absolutely crazy!" He pulled her across the threshold and almost dragged her towards the warmth of the sitting room's fireplace.

"I-I-I...wa-was...bored..." She stuttered, fighting to answer him as her teeth chattered uncontrollably.

"So, of course, the logical thing to do is go out in the middle of a storm and try to freeze yourself to death. Yep, catching pneumonia sure does sound exciting." Damon rolled his eyes and shook his head in annoyance, sitting her down and flitting up to his bedroom to grab blankets and pyjamas for her. He heard her mutter 'Well obviously...' and chuckled at her sigh of annoyance.

He opened his wardrobe and quickly found what he was looking for. Luckily, she had decided to start putting some of her clothes in Damon's wardrobe in case of emergencies.

He'd put on a song and dance about her taking up his space and cramping the style of his labelled clothes by putting in her excuse for a wardrobe. Secretly though, he'd thought it was cute and it had actually made his undead heart leap with joy. He was so in love with this girl and it was borderline pathetic that the simple sight of her clothes hanging next to his made him want to do a little happy dance and fist pump the air.

He'd had to fight to repress the remarks dying to spill past his lips as she'd hung pyjamas in there as well. Did she plan on staying over regularly? He hoped to God that she did.

He also wished she'd decide to sleep in his bed, with him, preferably naked, but he knew that would be crossing over into the 'more than friends' category in their relationship and she'd never agree to that.

He wondered, frustrated, why? She'd slept in her bed with him nearly every night over the past few weeks. He'd even awoken a few times to find her curled up tightly next to him, her head on his chest and her hand linked with his as if it was the most natural thing in the world. That's what it felt like to him every time they were together. Completely natural and so overwhelmingly right, that he couldn't believe they were still just friends. Surely, she realised they were more, that they had always been more.

Damon returned quickly and passed her her clothes, retreating, albeit reluctantly, to the kitchen so she could put them on privately.

A few minutes later, Elena shouted through that she was finished and he rolled his eyes again. He loved that she sometimes forgot that he was a vampire. She could have breathed it and he would have heard her.

"Now, can you explain to me exactly why you just had to come here in the middle of the night, whilst it was blowing a hurricane outside?" He raised his eyebrows in disapproval, walking over to her and wrapping her up tightly in the blankets, rubbing her arms vigorously to try and generate some warmth back into her body before her extremities started dropping off.

"I told you," Elena sighed quietly, pleased that her teeth had finally stopped chattering, "I was bored. Jeremy's at Bonnie's and Alaric is staying at his place tonight, so I..."

"You were alone?" Damon asked irritated.

"I'm not a child, Damon. I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself." Elena huffed angrily.

"Elena, that house is practically a glowing target for the supernatural. You've died, Jeremy's died, Alaric's died, more than once may I add. There's no owner. It's not safe there for anyone to be alone, especially you. Why didn't you just call me?" He asked staring at her intensely.

"It...slipped my mind." She said meekly. Now that he mentioned it, she felt like a complete idiot for not even considering it.

"It slipped your mind?" He repeated in disbelief. Honestly, this girl was insane.

She nodded then grabbed a pillow and threw it on to his lap, grabbing the covers and tossing them over her as she laid across him.

Damon froze at her sudden movement, then marvelled silently at how comfortable she seemed to be this close to him, as if she regularly laid in his lap.

"What are we watching?" She asked, bringing him out of his momentary stupor. He was finding it extremely difficult to concentrate with her this close.

"Uh oh...erm..." He cleared his throat, cringing at his lack of response. Smooth, Salvatore, real smooth. "I was going to watch a movie but then I heard you walking towards the door." He gave her a pointed 'I'm still pissed at you by the way' look before shrugging his shoulders and continuing, "I hadn't decided what to watch so, you pick if you want." He smiled at her as her eyes lit up, then quickly dropped it as he saw a mischievous look flash across her face.

"Where are your DVD's?" She asked eagerly.

"Oh no, I know that look. I am not watching a chick flick. No way. I'd rather face a hundred werewolves on a full moon than watch The Notebook again."

"I wasn't going to pick a chick flick." Elena replied, putting on her most innocent expression.

Yeah right, he thought, as he shook his head and told her they were in his room.

"I'll put your stuff in the washer whilst you pick."

"No, I'll do it." She said quickly smiling. "You pick the movie and I'll wash my clothes."

"Okay." He replied unsure. He knew she was up to something, he could see it, but he wasn't sure what angle she was playing. Damn, woman. She was so bloody confusing. Just when he thought he knew exactly what she was going to do, she had to go and throw a curveball at him.

He loved her for it though.

"A horror movie would be good." She told him before grabbing her clothes and walking away.

Damon watched her walk towards the basement, her clothes draped across her arm, before speeding up to his bedroom to pick a film.

She normally hated horror movies. He'd teased her numerous times about her lack of fear when she was fighting against vampires, werewolves, hybrids and originals, but her total inability to be able to watch a scary movie without screaming the house down.

Again, he wondered just what the hell was going on in that pretty little head of hers.

Okay then, if she wanted a horror film, he'd give her a horror film. Damon chuckled quietly, it was definitely going to be an interesting night.

Elena smiled. It was so funny watching his reactions as he tried to figure her out. She wasn't up to anything specifically, she just knew how to keep him guessing. Besides, he confused and frustrated her all the time, it couldn't hurt to give him a taste of his own medicine.

She walked down the steps into the basement and crossed the room towards the washing machine. Placing her dripping wet clothes on top of the dryer, she turned the washer on and set about figuring out how to use it.

Trust Damon to have a stupid hi-tech washer instead of a normal one. She concentrated on all the little buttons, who knew there were so many different settings? Her washing machine was basically an on and off type of thing, nothing fancy, and definitely not this confusing.

She shrugged deciding to just let it wash on whatever setting he'd used last. Elena threw her clothes into the top and set about searching for the washing powder. She found it in the cabinet above the dryer and started pouring it in. She had just decided that the amount of powder she'd poured would be enough when the bottom of it burst open, spilling the entire contents, at least half of the box, into the machine.

"Shit." She exclaimed angrily, today was definitely not her day. Elena tried to scoop some of the powder back into the box but it was useless. Screw it, she thought, shutting the lid and pressing what she'd guessed to be the on button.

Elena turned to head back upstairs when she heard a gurgling noise behind her. She whipped her head around, gasping when she saw tiny bubbles beginning to pour from the closed lid of the washer.

She quickly walked back over to it, attempting to stem the flow of the bubbles with her hands.

"No, no, no." She cursed under her breath. This was not happening! Why couldn't anything go right anymore? All she wanted to do was wash her clothes for god's sake. Surely, she was competent enough to do that without screwing it up.

She started to panic slightly as the bubbles grew bigger and started pouring out faster. She gave up trying to stop it from coming out, deciding to just shut the machine off and wash her clothes at home.

Elena frantically began pressing buttons on the screen. The washer started to make a whirring sound as she accidentally hit turbo spin and bubbles rapidly began to build up around her. There were so many bubbles, that they were now up to her knees.

"Please stop." She cried, still pressing as many buttons as she could in the hopes of hitting the right one.

She screamed loudly as the lid popped open, shooting jets of water all over her face and body.

Damon was just walking back down the stairs, scary movie proudly in hand, when he heard Elena scream.

He threw the DVD onto the couch, racing as fast as he could down to the basement, before stopping in complete shock, as he took in the scene at the bottom of the stairs.

He was prepared for evil hybrids, a gang of soon-to-be-dead vampires (well, soon to be dead again) hell, he was even prepared to go down fighting against un-killable originals but this, this…was just…hilarious.

Elena was covered from head to toe in bubbles, she was completely soaked and she was attempting, unsuccessfully, to stop whatever madness she'd evidently created. The entire room was full of water and bubbles and Damon was having trouble trying to process what was happening.

It was, hands down, the funniest scene he had ever walked in on. He shook his head in amusement, he couldn't leave her for 5 minutes without chaos erupting around her.

He flitted quickly over to the machine and yanked the plug from its socket. The bubbles gradually began to slow down and he was overcome with the urge to laugh hysterically as he got a closer look at Elena.

"Shut up." She groaned, trying to wipe away the bubbles from as much of her body as she could reach.

"I didn't say a word." Damon smirked, chuckling when she attempted to hit him, slipping and falling to the floor as she did so.

"Ugh, can this day get any worse!" Elena huffed angrily.

Damon laughed at her outburst before sliding down to sit next to her. "Guess you're not the domestic type then." He wiggled his eyebrows at her as she groaned in exasperation.

"It's your fault! Who buys a washing machine that has 400 different settings! It's like the bloody krypton factor trying to work that out!" She threw her arms up in annoyance.

"Well, there's this thing you see, it helps you work out how to use something you've never used before. It's called an instruction manual." Damon smirked again as she attempted to glare daggers at him. She probably thought she looked intimidating, Damon thought she looked adorable. There was just no way he could take her seriously when she was covered in bubbles.

Before he could congratulate himself on his amazing wit, Elena grabbed an armful of bubbles and covered his face in them, laughing as he spluttered in surprise.

"This means war, Gilbert." He growled playfully.

"I'm terrified." She mocked as she began throwing more bubbles at him.

Elena jumped to her feet as Damon began throwing bubbles back at her, using his vampire speed to dodge her attacks.

"No fair." She whined laughing.

"I'm a vampire, the word fair is not in my dictionary."

Elena attempted to run away from him, slipping as she did so. Damon caught her easily but misjudged the way she was falling causing him to slip as well. He turned her as they were falling so she landed on top of him instead of landing on the floor.

She began giggling softly as they landed, puffs of bubbles erupting all around them. Damon laughed with her as she buried her face in his chest in embarrassment.

Their laughter died as quickly as it had begun, and the atmosphere turned serious, as they both began to realize the position they had fallen in. They were entirely too close.

Elena looked up slowly and instantly got lost in the intensity of Damon's gaze. They were alight with a fire, a passion, a longing, that she was not sure she would ever be able to match.

Damon was equally as lost in her eyes too. He was trying to decipher a new emotion he was slowly beginning to find there. He'd noticed it in brief flashes over the last couple of months but he hadn't been able to place it. Until now.

He listened as her heart beats sped up and her breathing became uneven and shallow. He wanted so badly to kiss her. He knew some part of her was attracted to him too. She wanted him to kiss her, well, her body definitely did, her brain was another issue entirely.

But it had always been this way with them. Ever since they had met, he had recognized the change in her body every time he got close to her. It was like a never ending battle between them.

They had never wanted to want each other, but there was no denying the overwhelming attraction that seemed to seep into every aspect of their beings, whenever they were together.

It had never been purely physical either. It was stronger than that. They just fit. It wasn't rational and it certainly wasn't logical, but it was definitely palpable.

He could smell the beginnings of her arousal perfume the air and he almost groaned in pleasure as she shifted above him, brushing against him in a way that sent his nerve endings on fire and a certain body part rising eagerly to attention.

They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity before Damon decided he'd have to be the one to diffuse the situation. He wanted to make her see that it was always meant to be them, that there was always meant to be an 'us' where they were concerned, but he refused to watch the regret flood her eyes when morning came.

They were always close to crossing that line, but when it came to it, there was always something holding them back. Hell, Damon didn't even know if he was ready to cross that line yet. He wanted them to work but he had absolutely zero experience when it came to a healthy, functioning relationship. He'd probably screw it up before it ever even got going.

He was gearing up to say something when it happened. It was like a decision had suddenly been made behind her eyes. They flooded with emotion; fire, passion, longing, desire.

Love.

Before he even had time to process that mind fuck, she leant forwards and pressed her lips gently to his.

His mind went blank with shock and it took him a few seconds to realize that Elena fucking Gilbert was kissing him. Him. No compulsion, no deathbed final goodbye, no drunken fumble. She was completely willing.

Just as he realized this, Elena began to pull away.

Hell no. Elena was insane if she thought he would ever let her go now. No, tonight she was going to finally realize that she was his. Only his.

He brought one hand up to tangle in her hair, pulling her face back towards his, before crushing his lips against hers. He snaked his other arm around her waist, pulling her closer, as she positioned her legs on either side of his body.

They sat up together as she wrapped her legs around his waist and they cradled each other's bodies, tugging themselves closer to the other.

He was lost in her kiss. He couldn't describe the feelings rushing through him as her lips moved perfectly against his. He'd never understood why people went on about finding that perfect kiss. The one that set your whole world on fire, and calmed it so peacefully, all at the same time. To him, a kiss was just a kiss. It was a progression towards sex. He'd thought he knew pretty much all there was to know about kissing. It was pleasant, but it wasn't life changing or earth shattering.

But kissing Elena made him rethink his entire attitude towards everything. He could spend the rest of his existence just kissing her and he'd never regret a moment of it, because he'd never fit anywhere quite as perfectly, as he did right here, kissing Elena.

He felt her pull back as she gasped for air. Her cheeks were flushed and her heart rate was beating so erratically that Damon began to actually get worried that she'd have a heart attack.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Elena burst into tears.

Damon felt his heart break, because, of course he couldn't get the girl. He never got anything he truly wanted. He was an idiot if he thought that would ever change. This was going to destroy his relationship with the last thing that really mattered to him and it was going to destroy the last remnants of his heart along with it.

He opened his mouth to apologise, he shouldn't have kissed her, it was wrong, it would never happen again. Then he stopped. He hadn't kissed her, she'd kissed him. This reaction was entirely her fault. Sure, he'd kissed her back, but she'd initiated it.

"Elena." He whispered, attempting to gently force her gaze in his direction by cupping her face and turning it towards him.

"I'm so sorry, Damon. I shouldn't have. I've spent all this time telling you that we can only ever be friends and then I go and kiss you. I'm so selfish."

Elena buried her face in her hands. It was all too much. He was too much for her. She couldn't do this anymore. It wasn't fair to Stefan and it wasn't fair to Damon.

She knew now that she no longer loved Stefan in the way she always thought she would. There was no going back to him, too much had happened and she'd never fully be able to let go of their past enough to start a future.

She knew now that it was always meant to be Damon for her. He'd realized it almost as soon as they'd met, but she had been too damn stubborn, too stupid and so focused on who she was supposed to love, that she had missed the chance at the greatest happiness she was sure she'd ever find.

Because Damon would make her happy, she knew that. He was completely her match in every way and they would fight for each other every single day of forever if she let them.

He deserved someone who loved him completely for everything he was and everything he would become. Elena wished she could be that person but she knew there were too many obstacles and she would never be strong enough to overcome them.

She pushed herself up and away from him, forcing back her tears and bracing herself for the pain she'd feel when she broke her own heart.

"I can't do this anymore, I'm sorry. You don't deserve this. I have been so terrible to you, so selfish with you, and I will never forgive myself for hurting you so much." Elena took a deep breath and steadied herself. "I'm leaving. You deserve so much better than I can ever give you and if I don't go now I'll only end up destroying you both, because I don't know how to love you without hurting him and I can't destroy what you and Stefan have by coming between you. I never wanted this, any of it."

She squared her shoulders and turned around towards the stairs. She would leave Mystic Falls tonight. Her family would be safe from the dangers in her life, her friends would be free of Klaus and Damon would be free of her selfishness.

"Don't you dare walk up those stairs, Elena. Don't think for one second I'm going to let you walk away from this with some noble speech about how this is best for both of us." Damon was absolutely furious. How could she possibly think she could admit she felt something for him and then walk away, telling him it was for his own good?

Did she not understand that anything involving him not being with her would damage him more completely than anything she could ever do to him? He had to make her realise that this wasn't something either of them could walk away from.

"I love you, Elena. You know that. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I've ever had and no matter what happens to us in the future, I will always be yours. I don't want to be anyone else's because I only want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day, if you'd just let me." He was shaking, actually shaking from the weight of the emotions pouring out of him. He couldn't lose her, not now, not ever. Not when he knew now that she felt more for him than she had ever let on.

"I love you and it's not in a friendly way, although I think we're great friends." He shook his head, chuckling humourlessly. "And not in a misplaced affection, doppleganger-related way, though I'm sure that's what you'd call it. And it's not because you're my brother's girl and you're unattainable. I love you. Very simply, very truly. You are the epitome of every thing I never knew I always wanted." He stared at the back of her head willing her to turn around and look at him.

"I know you think of me as just a friend, and crossing that line for good is the furthest thing from an option you'd ever consider. But I have to say it. I can't take this anymore. I can't stand next to you without wanting to hold you. I can't look into your eyes without feeling that longing you only read about in those trashy romance novels." He shook his head again. This was the longest speech he'd ever given in his entire existence and it felt like the rest of his life depended on it.

"Hell, I can't even talk to you without wanting to express my love for everything you are. I've never felt this way before. I can't let another day go by without getting it out there, regardless of the outcome, which by the look I'm guessing will be on your face, is the inevitable shoot down. But I know some part of you is hesitating, and if there is even a moment, a single second of hesitation, that means you feel something too. Please don't ignore it." He pleaded.

"Elena, there is not another soul on this fucking planet who's ever made me half the person I am when I'm with you. You gave me back my humanity and I'm willing to risk our friendship because I am sick and tired of pretending that I'm not hopelessly in love with you. It's there between you and me, you can't deny that." He felt helpless, as though the walls were closing in on him and he had nowhere to go. She still hadn't reacted and he felt desperate. There was no way he was imagining what was between them.

"I know why you don't want this, believe me, I get it." He sighed. "But you can't live your life for other people, Elena. You've got to do what's right for you. Would you just stop thinking about what everyone else thinks? Stop thinking about what I want, what he wants, what your friends and family want. What do you want? Because if it's not outside of that door, then you're making the biggest mistake of your life."

Elena turned around slowly, tears falling freely down her face. "We would never work." She whispered, eyes closing in defeat. Everything he had said to her made her want to run into his arms and never look back. She loved him more than she'd ever loved anything else, but she had to be strong. Elena couldn't break what was left of him, because she would, maybe not today or tomorrow, but she was poison. Eventually she would break him, no matter how hard she tried not to.

"Don't say we aren't right for each other because you know as well as I do that we aren't right for anyone else." Damon hissed. She had no excuse.

"I know!" She screeched. "I know, Damon. Sometimes, when you're not around, I miss you so much I can barely breathe, I can't sleep, I can't think, and my heart feels like it's breaking into a thousand tiny pieces." She was breathing erratically, her heart pounding violently in her ears. "You're everything to me, okay. You're my air, my dreams, my hopes, my soul, but I can't be with you. I should have realised sooner that it was never Stefan, not really. It was always you for me, Damon. Always."

Damon was stunned, floored, to realise that she'd been fighting feelings this intense for him all this time. He found himself falling even more in love with her as he watched her fight to control herself.

"Why can't you?" He whispered brokenly. "Why can't you just let me love you? Why do you never do anything the easy way?"

"What easy way? There is no easy way! No matter what I do, somebody gets hurt!" Elena shouted, furiously wiping the tears from her face. Why was he making this so difficult?

"Of course someone's going to get hurt! Stop trying to make excuses for what you're doing here! You're scared. I am too. I'm absolutely terrified of my feelings for you. And I've tried to fight it, tried to deny it and pretend that it will go away, but I can't."

They were stood mere inches from each other now. It was like a gravitational pull, drawing them constantly together.

"I love you so much it physically hurts when you aren't near me. I need you like I've never needed anything in my life and I know you feel it too. We're destroying each other trying to fight this when all we really want to do is give in." He ran his hand angrily through his hair. His emotions were on overdrive and he just couldn't seem to stop his feelings from pouring out into the open. If she rejected him now he would not recover.

"You tell me that kiss wasn't the best feeling you've ever had. Tell me that you feel like that when you're with Stefan. Tell me that what we have when we're together doesn't feel like it makes more sense, feels more right, than anything you've ever felt before."

Elena shook her head. "You have to let me go, Damon. Please just let me go." She whispered. She felt like she was slowly coming undone, unraveling at his feet, falling apart in ways that could never be fixed.

"I can't let you go. I can't lose you, Elena." Damon was on the verge of tears. Asking him to let her go was like asking him to give up his very essence. He was nothing without her and he never wanted to be anything if he wasn't with her.

Elena swallowed painfully. She had to decide whether she really could do this. She knew if she said her next words there was no going back. He'd never forgive her and she'd never be able to get him back.

She closed her eyes briefly, searching for any shred of courage she might have left. This was the moment that would define the rest of her life. She either kissed him or she left him.

She reopened her eyes and gazed into desperate orbs of blue. He was in turmoil and her eyes mirrored his anguish.

Elena tried to imagine her life without him in it and when her heart tore with despair at the thought, she knew she never really had a choice.

She had to fight for this. For the one thing that felt absolutely real for the first time in her entire life. Because when it's real you can't walk away. No matter how tempting it may be to run back to the familiar, to the safety and comfort of the known, she knew her life was never meant for that the moment Damon entered it.

No, there had only ever been one choice.

She glanced down and lifted her hand to wrap around his, their fingers entwining so perfectly she wanted to cry.

Elena glanced back up at his face, watching his reaction as she slowly leaned towards him.

Their lips met and they both poured every feeling they'd ever felt for each other into a kiss that set both their worlds on fire. Pain, longing, passion, anger, frustration, and love.

(Always love.)


End file.
